Broward Wants To Boot State As Tourism Tax Collector

March 26, 1992|By BOB LaMENDOLA, Staff Writer

After years of griping about Tallahassee, Broward County tourism officials say they want to fire the state as collector of the county`s tourist tax.

State revenue officials have been so late turning over the money that the county says it loses about $100,000 in interest every year. And the state fails to collect the tax from uncounted owners of condominiums and other properties who should pay, officials said.

For the service, the state last year charged about $220,000, or 2 percent of the county`s $11 million hotel tax.

``It`s absolutely time to stop talking about collecting it ourselves and start putting the machinery in place to do it,`` County Commissioner Nicki Grossman said. ``It`s gotta be cheaper to do it in-house.``

Grossman, chairwoman of the Broward Tourist Development Council, said she will brief council colleagues today about a study on taking over the collections.

Broward estimated a year ago that the switch would cost $200,000 for computers and $500,000 a year for staff, county finance director Philip Allen said. He is trying to pare the annual cost to $300,000, hoping to make the switch by Jan. 1. The county charges tourists a 3 percent tax on hotel and rental-housing stays of less than six months. The money pays for tourism promotion and the new convention center at Port Everglades.

But the county is still waiting for about $1.5 million that tourists paid in January.

Officials also complain that the state invariably underestimates the amount and pays the rest only after an audit -- but still has not settled for discrepancies dating back to October.

Such problems already have prompted 15 of 35 tourist-oriented counties to dump the state as tax collector.

Lee County, on the Gulf Coast, found that 650 of 1,000 properties on the state`s collection list were invalid, and in a year found 1,500 the state had missed, officials said. Tourist tax revenue there jumped 20 percent.

State officials admit the county complaints are valid, saying they concentrate on collecting the state`s $9 billion-a-year sales tax.

``Unfortunately, (the tourist tax) isn`t our first priority,`` said Tom Herndon, director of the Department of Revenue.

But he said counties should not jump ship. The Legislature passed a bill that will allow the state to pay counties interest on tourist taxes and to reward counties that ferret out tax dodgers.